Method of preparing original engraved plates for printing on rotary presses



G. s. uPsHAw 1,976,640 v METHOD 0F PREPARING ORIGINAL ENGRAVED PLATES FOR PRINT-ING oN ROTARY PRESSES Filed Oct. 27, -1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 9, 1934.

Oct. 9, 1934. G. s. UPSHAW 1,976,640

METHOD OF PREPARING ORIGINAL ENGRA PLATES FOR PRINTING ON ARY PRES Filed 1001*.. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented ct. 9, 1923A PATENT? OFI-ica I 1.9mm

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Gnavnn m'res ron gamma oN noun' masas Geom shirley um". sm mm, onu. Application October 27, 1930,' Serial No. 491,422 -1' cum. (ci. lol-srs) y My invention relates to a method of preparing original engraved plates for printing on rotary presses, and the objects of my invention are:

First, to provide a method of this nature which.

is particularly adaptedv for preparing original engraved plates used in printing art, pictorial, o r

magazine sections of a newspaper; I

Second, to provide a methodof this nature which eliminates the use of mats and stereotype, 1

casts for pictorial printing by preparing the engraved plates themselves for use on the rotary press;

Third, to provide a method of this nature which eliminates the loss of detail occasioned by the use of mats and stereotype casts due to the transferring andre-transferring ofthe images; i

Fourth, to provide a method of` this nature which enables the .use of a much finer screen in the process of producing the engraved plate than ispossible when these plates are to be used in the conventionalmanner upon rotary presses;

Fifth, to provide a method of this nature which makesv possible on rotary' presses the fine art 'effects now Yobtainable only upon fiat bed presses, thereby greatly reducing the time and labor required to print the pictorial sections of a newspaper;

Sixth, to provide a method ofv this nature .which is adapted for use in conjunction with all rotary press work as well as newspaper work;

Seventh, to provide a method of this class which makes' possible the printing of pictorial sections in several colors; and

Eighth, to provide on Vthe whole a method of preparing original engraved plates, which is particularly simple and economical of execution, and which on the whole greatly simplies pictorial printing.l v

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the. clamp press, one of the devices used in preparing the original engraved plates by my method; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof, through 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary sectional View, showing in detail the manner of securing the engraved plate to its base; Fig. 4 is a sectional view through an adapter member used in conjunction with the printing with 'the clamp press; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectionalview of the bending machine used in preparing engraved plates; Fig. 6 is a perspective view ofthe engraved 60 plate as it appears when readyfor installation upon the rotary press; and Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through ,7-7 of Fig. 6. Similar characters of reference' refer to similar parts and portions throughout the several views of thedrawings.`

Engraved plate l, blanket 2, base v15, pad 21, locking bars 25, and screws 2'6 constitute the principal parts and portions of my printing device; bending machine A, including: table 3, frame- "10 work 4, feed rollers 5 and 6, gears 7; handle means 8, fixed minor roller 9, movable minor roller 10, major' roller 11, travelerslZ, screw members 13, and guide roller 14; clamp press B, including: bed 16, U-frames 17, crossframe 18, screw member 19, movable jaw 20, crimping bars 22, screw members 23, andladapter 25, constitute the prin-'- cipal parts and portions of my means for p reparing engraved plates for rotary presses. i

Heretofore, in order to adapt pictorial matter to the rotary press, it has been necessaryato take an impression from a fiat engraved plate by means of a mat lwhich is at i'lrst of a plastic nature. In order to use the mat, it has been necessary to employ a coarse screen in producing the engraved plate. In transferring the image to the mat, a relatively large per cent of the' detail is lost. After the impression is made, the mat is bent and treated for a considerable time to harden it.' Then, from the mat a stereotyped cast is made, again causing a loss of considerable detail.

With my process, the matand stereotyped/cast are entirely eliminated, the engraving vplate itself being used on the rotary press.

The engraved plate, designated 1,is produced in the manner used in producing engraving plates for fiat bed presses, and is made approximately'l the size of the stereotype casts formerly used. At each end of theplate there is provided a blank strip or marginal portion 1b extending beyond the 100 printing line. At either side of the plates, preferably centered between the ends, is a small perforation 1a.

The first machine used upon the engraved plate is a'bender. The engraved plate is placed face 105 down upon a blanket 2, preferably of rubber, so as to protect the engraved surface. The engraved plate and blanket are placed on the table 3 of the vbending machine, designated A.

The bending machine includes a framework 4,

of the blanket and engraved plates, and are lo cated in such a manner with respect to the table 3, that with the engraved plate and blanket lying flat on the table, they may be guided accurately between the feed rollers.

Beyond the feed rollers is a xed minor bending roller'9 and a shiftable minor bending roller 10.

, The minor rollers 9 and l0 are arranged above and below, respectively, of the line of travel of the engraved plate 1 and its blanket 2. Beyond the minor rollers 9` and 10 is a major roller 1l, of considerably greater diameter. The point of engagementof the upper minor roller 10 is between the points of engagement of the minor roller 9 and major rollers 1,1.

` The minor roller 10 is supported at'its end by traveler members 12, which operate in a slot 4c provided in the end members 4a of vthe bending machine. Each traveler member 12 is provided with a screw member 13, which extends throughsl web 4l) above 'the slot 4c. The shiftable minor roller 10 is adjusted until the three bending rollers give the engraved plate issuing therefrom exactly the desired curvature.

It will be noted that the points of contact of the bending rollers are particularly close together; in addition, the use of a major roller, which is considerably larger than the minor rollers 9 and 10, causes the engraved plate to strike the major roller at a particularly acute angle with the underlying surface, so that the plate is gradually deflected to the desired curvature. Furthermore, the blanket, being slightly yieldable, prevents the bending rollers from creating localized bending stresses that would cause uneven bending of the engraved plate.

Beyond the bending rollers 9, 1Q, and 11, there is provided a guide roller 14, which supports the bent engraved plate as it issues fromthe bending rollers.v After bending they engraved plate to the desired curvature, it is placed upon a base member l5. The base member 15 is slightly less than semi`cylindrical, and has substantially the size of a stereotype cast. The arcuate ends 15a of the base member 15 are beveled, as shown in Fig. 7, similar to the ends of stereotype casts, so as to enable the mounting of the base member on the cylinder of a conventional rotary press. The

.engraved plate when said plate is bent proper curvature.

outer periphery of the base member l5 conforms to the curvature of the inner periphery of the to the Centered between the straight ends ofthe base member and adjacent the curved ends thereof,- is a pair of pins 15b, which register with perforations 1a provided in the engraved plate. The perextending marginal portions 1Gb along itsl sides. i

At each end of the bed there is provided an upwardly extending U-frame 17, the legs of which are secured to the ends of the marginal portions vA cross member 18 connects the two U-frames at their upper portions. Vertically disposed and member 15 plus the thickness of the engraved platel 2, and plus the thickness of a protecting pad 21 .placed thereon.

The end portions of the movable clamp jaw 20 are provided with outwardly extending arms 20a at the end of which are rollers 2Gb. Each leg of each U-frame 17 is provided with a pair of guide bosses 17a, between which nt the corresponding rollers 20h.

The base of each leg of each U-frame 17 is provided with a horizontally disposed guide channel 17h. Extending between the opposed legs of the two U-frames 17, is a crimping bar 22,v lthe ends of which are guided b the channels 17h. Attached toeach crimping bar 22, is a screw member 23, which extends through an internally threaded sleeve 16o attached to the marginal portion 16h of the bed 16. The outer end of each screw member 23 is provided with a hand wheel 23.

Along the straight end of the base member l5, 'said base member is reduced in thickness, forming marginal depressed portions 15e. These depressed portions are opposite the ends of the crimping bar 22. The marginal portions of the engraved` plates beyond the printing line overhang the depressed portions 15e.l

After placing the engraved plate 1 upon its base 15 and then placing the pad 21 upon the outer or engraved surface of the engraved plates, these three members are positioned on the xed jaw 16a, as shown in Fig. 1. The movable jaw is then shifted downwardly until it is pressing with considerable force against the pad 21, holding the engraved plate 1 rxnly upon the base member l5. When thus held, the crimping bars 22 are moved inwardly so as to crimp the marginal portions 1b of the engraved plate into the depressed marginal portions 15e.

Provided in the fixed jaw 16a, opposite the ends of the crimping bar, are a plurality of holes 16d. Opposite these holes the marginal portions 15e of the base member are Aprovided with countersunk openings 15d, the countersimk ends thereof being on the inner periphery of the base member.

While the engraved plate and its base member are held by the clampvjaw 20 and crimping bars 22, holes are bored through the marginal portio lb of the engraved plates. y

Y As the base member may be used many times, an adapter 24 is provided which fits -in the holes 16e, whichrholds a drill in alinement with the openings 15d provided in the base member, so as to prevent enlarging thereof.

After boring holes in the marginal portions 1b of the engraved plate, the crimping bars' are backed away therefrom, and a. securing bar 25 is placed along said marginal portions. The secur- 150 ing bar 25 is provided with a plurality of threaded holes therein, which aline with the holes 15d and those bored in the engraving plate.

Screws 26 are then inserted through the openings 16d and screwed into the locking bar 25. The base member and engraved plates are then removed from the clamping press and placed on the cylinder of the printing press in the same manner as stereotyped casts..

The heads of the screws bear against the cylinder of the printing press and cannot work out and cause damage. The locking bars 25 are cornrnon to a plurality of the screws, since these members cannot work loose.

My method of preparing engraved plates for use on cylindrical presses consists in trimming the plate to the desired size, and providing marginal portions along each end beyond the printing line, then placing a blanket over the engraved surface, then inserting the blanket and engraved plate into a bending machine adapted to give the desired curvature to the engraved plates; then placing the engraved plate upon a base so as to bring the surface to the desired height; then placing the engraved plate and base in a clamp press and covering the engraved surface with a pad, and clamping the engraved plate and base; then pressing the free marginal portions of the engraved plate to corresponding pressed portions of the base; then securing the base and engraved plate at this marginal portion by inserting screws from the inside outwardly through said base into a locking bar common to each straight side of the engraving plate; and then positioning the engraved plate and its base upon the cylindrical press.

Though I have shown and described a particular means and method of preparing original engraved plates for rotary presses, I do not wish to be limited to this particular means and method, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the means and method substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of preparing original engraved plates for rotary printing presses, consisting in rolling a plate from edge to edge to form an arc, then placing said plate upon a correspondingly curved base, then clamping the same thereon and then interlocking said base and plate together by their straight sides.

. 2. A method of preparing original engraved plates for rotary presses, consisting in covering the printing side of a plate with a yieldable blanket, then rolling said plate from edge to edge while so covered to form an arc; and then securing said plate upon a correspondingly curved rigid base member while maintaining said plate substantially free of tensional stresses.

3. A method of preparing original engraved plates for rotary presses, consisting in covering the printing side of a plate with a yieldable blanket, then bending said plate in an arc while so covered, then placing said plate upon a correspondingly curved rigid base member, then depressing the straight marginal portions of said plate below the printing surface thereof, then placing lockingbars in said depressed portions. and then inserting means interlockable with said locking-bar from the inside outwardly through said base. f

4. A method of 'producing original engraved plates for rotary presses consisting in covering the printing side of a plate with a yieldablel blanket, then rolling said plate from edge to edge while so covered to form an arc, then placing said plate upon a correspondingly curved base,

then clamping the same thereon, then depressing the straight marginal portions of said `plate below the printingv surface thereof, then locking said plate and bases together at the depressed portions at their edges.

5. A method of producing original engraved plates for rotary presses consisting in covering the printing side of a plate with a yieldable blanket, then rolling said plate from edge to edge while so covered to form an arc, then placing said plate upon a correspondingly curved base, then clamping the same thereon, then depressing the straight marginal portions of said plate below the printing surface thereof, then placing locking bars in said depressed portions, and then inserting means interlockable with said locking bars from the inside outwardly through said base.

6. A method oi preparing original engraved plates for rotary 'printing presses consisting in, rolling a plate from edge to edge to form an arc, then placing said plate upona correspondingly curved base,

then clamping the same thereon in stresses, and then interlocking said plate and base together by their straight sides.

"7. A method of producing original engraved plates for rotary presses consisting in, covering the printing side of a plate with a yieldable blanket, then rolling theI plate from edge to edge while so covered to form an arc, then placing said plate upon a correspondingly curved base, then clamping the same thereon in a manner to substantially avoid tensional stresses, then depressing the straight marginal portions of said plate below the printing surface thereof, then lock-l ing said plate. and bases together at the de-A pressed portions at their edges.

enormen SHIRLEY UPsHAw. 

